Alaska

A pair of small, high-end cruise lines are expanding their Alaska fleets. The Seattle-based companies are filling some of the void left when Cruise West went out of business about a year ago.

InnerSea Discoveries already sails two small ships between Juneau and Ketchikan. Sister company American Safari sails three luxury yachts from Juneau to Glacier Bay and other locations.

Both plan to expand Alaska sailings to capture an increasing American market.

“A lot of people are choosing to stay home and not travel over to Europe where, of course, the dollar is not doing so well,” says Tim Jacox, executive vice president of sales and marketing for the lines.

He says the exchange rate is also making Alaska more attractive to foreign travelers: “So you’re going to see more international visitors. We had a banner year this year, and we expect the same next year, from especially the Australia-New Zealand markets.”

He also says the growth is helped by the great deal the companies got on out-of-use Cruise West vessels. The longtime small-ship line ended its business last August.

InnerSea Discoveries recently announced it will add the 76-passenger Wilderness Explorer to its Alaska roster next summer. Week-long trips between Sitka and Juneau will include Glacier Bay and other remote areas.

The ship used to sail Southeast as Cruise West’s 86-berth Spirit of Discovery. Jacox says it’s being renovated to be less crowded and provide more amenities.

“We’ll go ahead and change out the lounge with more of a 1940s National Park Service lodge motif. It’ll be a pub-like atmosphere for sharing stories of all the events of the day. So we’ll install 10 microbrew taps to make that happen,” Jaycox says.

Fares will range from $3,000 to $6,000 for seven-day trips.

American Safari, the InnerSea’s higher-end brand, has acquired Cruise West’s 102-passenger Spirit of Endeavour. It’s now called the Safari Endeavour and is being reconfigured to handle 86 passengers. It will sail from Juneau to Glacier Bay, Endicott Arm and Icy Strait.

Jacox says eight berths are being turned into four two-room suites, with outside balconies. The company will also add massage rooms and hot tubs.

“And then with the additional space we will be adding a wine bar in the longue area and also a library in the dining area. So those are additional public spaces and meeting areas that didn’t exist on that boat before,” Jaycox says.

Fares will start at about $4,800.

The company is also adding the former Cruise West Spirit of 98, which will become the Safari Legacy. It will also be refurbished, with tours starting in 2013. Sailings, between Sitka and Juneau, will include Glacier Bay.

The two lines’ small passenger capacity means little impact on the overall number of people cruising state waters. But John Binkley of the Alaska Cruise Association says it’s still significant.

“We’re glad to see them increase their capacity. I know a lot of smaller communities get a lot of business from them. And It’s a great product,” Binkley says. “Princess will be adding a new ship next year. That will add about 50,000 passengers to the Alaska market. They’ll be coming across the Gulf of Alaska to Southcentral so that will help all parts of Alaska.”

He says Holland-America is also between 5 to 7 percent capacity with a different mix of ships. And Disney has announced plans to return.

“It looks like we’ll have a significant increase in the number of visitors coming to Alaska next year,” Binkley says.

Another small-ship company, American Cruise Lines, also plans to enter the Alaska market in 2012. It will sail the 100-passenger American Spirit out of Juneau.

Sitka-based Alaskan Dream Cruises, owned by Allen Marine, is another small-ship line. The two-vessel company is also increasing its capacity next year, adding four new itineraries.

Other small lines operating in the region include The Boat Company and National Geographic/Lindblad Expeditions.

 

Stories include the latest candidate to run for school board during the municipal election on October 4th and another buyer steps forward to pick up the last two weeklies being shut down by Calista Corporation.

One of the Department of Agriculture’s top officials travels through Southeast Alaska and the nation’s largest national forest over the next week.

U.S. Agriculture Department Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment Harris Sherman arrives in Juneau on Saturday and then heads to Sitka and Ketchikan over the next several days. The culmination of the trip will be celebration of a stream restoration project in Craig next Thursday.

During a recent wide-ranging interview with Undersecretary Sherman, we asked him to comment on the Department’s legal plans since the Roadless Rule exemption was lifted for Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. The State of Alaska is appealing a District Court ruling essentially setting aside the exemption. A group of Southeast businesses and organizations are intervening on the side of the state – saying application of the roadless rule could prevent development of hydroelectric projects and restrict the timber and mining industries. Sherman says the thrust of their Alaska legal case will be up to the Solicitor general.

Among many of the department’s issues ar the latest bills that would devote land from the land from the Tongass National Forest to the Sealaska corporation to make up for shortcomings in selections under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

We’ve aired many stories previously documenting views of Sealaska corporation, the congressional delegation, environmentalists, and Southeast residents. But little from the current landlord. The Agriculture Department also says they have some issues they’d like to iron out before a transfer. During that recent interview with Undersecretary Sherman, we also asked him to comment on the latest versions of the land selection bills.

JUNEAU, ALASKA (2011-08-16) Reactions to the proposed ferry schedule for next summer are mixed. In general, communities like more service and dislike reductions. But it’s not that simple.

The draft of 2012’s May-through-September sailing plan alters the fast ferry Fairweather’s routes.

One change has the ship stop in Angoon twice a week during its Juneau-Sitka roundtrip sailings. It would replace port calls by the small ferry LeConte, long the village’s marine highway mainstay.

(Link to proposed changes for the 2012 summer schedule.)

Angoon businesswoman Maxine Thompson serves on the state’s Marine Transportation Advisory Board. She says it’s the best of a limited field of choices.

“In order for Angoon to resume service to Sitka where we have the SEARHC hospital we need to have the Fairweather. Because the LeConte is a day boat, we no longer have the option to use her to transport to and from Sitka,” Thompson says.

Another fast ferry change would increase Juneau-Sitka sailings from five to six days a week. That would come at the expense of Petersburg, which would see runs cut from twice to once a week.

Petersburg Mayor Al Dwyer opposes that plan.

“I understand the ridership wasn’t what it should have been. But anything that limits access to Petersburg is not good for Petersburg,” Dwyer says.

The proposed summer 2012 schedule would keep the Malaspina sailing daily among Lynn Canal communities. But it would reverse direction, starting and ending in Juneau, instead of Skagway.

Robert Venables of Haines, another Marine Transportation Advisory Board, criticizes the plan.

“I do have concerns with the day boat change. I’ve long been a champion of homeporting that in the north and I think it works better for those communities. I did talk to the deputy commissioner who indicated that should this be implemented and not work out, that it could be revisited,” Venables says.

Gustavus picks up more sailings under the draft schedule. It would see four weekly LeConte stops next summer instead of the current two. The town near the entrance to Glacier Bay just began regular ferry service last fall.

Melanie Lesh, who works for the Gustavus Visitors Association, says the runs have been convenient.

“We could always take our own boats back and forth and there’s freight service to get our bulky goods out here. But being able to drive a car on and off the ferry and then do our shopping and even our vehicle maintenance has been just really helpful,” Lesh says.

She and others say more sailings will be good for tourism. But they acknowledge some residents worry about the changes increased access is bringing.

One city official says traffic has increased, meaning bike lanes may need to be added. And some people are concerned about ferry travelers camping on private land without adequate sanitation facilities.

Most of the summer 2012 schedule does not change. That includes the Bellingham-to-Whittier express, a twice-monthly Kennicott sailing that began this summer.

Advisory board chairman Mike Korsmo of Skagway says it’s been a good addition.

“It’s been very successful so far. And it takes a lot of pressure off of the Columbia run coming up out of Bellingham. And it satisfies a lot of people who were complaining that we only had one Bellingham run,” Korsmo says.

It stops in Ketchikan, Juneau and Yakutat. Officials say they’re working to make sure there’s room for Yakutat vehicles, since the car deck can be booked far in advance.

The schedule changes come after several years of a relatively static timetable. Officials promised stability after a period of frequent changes that brought calls for more predictable sailings.

Advisory board member Venables says the proposed schedule meets marine highway goals.

“The system is trying to be responsive as it moved forward, having enough long-term consistency to be predictable yet to be responsive enough to make changes as necessary. So I think overall it’s a healthy thing,” Venables says.

He says one proposed change could lead to more schedule flexibility. That’s a weekly overnight in Hoonah for the Juneau-based LeConte, which normally makes only day trips.

“It may just make sense to in the future go to a community, overnight in that community and then the crew goes into the community as they do for the airlines. And then you change crew or overnight and come back the next day,” Venables says.

The ferry system will hold a teleconference on the proposed schedule Monday, August 22nd. Testimony from Southeast starts at 10 a.m. and from Southcentral and Southwest at 1:30 p.m.

The teleconference number is 1-800-315-6338. The conference code is 3902#.

Comments can also be submitted to dot.amhs.comments@alaska.gov

A bill just heard by a Congressional committee would allow Tlingits from Hoonah to harvest seagull eggs in Glacier Bay. It would resume a tradition that ended when the former Native homeland became a national park.

But it faces opposition from a nationwide environmental group.

Tlingits used to live, hunt and fish in Glacier Bay, about 50 miles west of what is now

Juneau. But centuries ago, the ice advanced and pushed them out. They settled across Icy Strait in Hoonah.

The glaciers later retreated from much of the bay, leaving large areas accessible. But since that time, it’s become a national park and preserve, where hunting and gathering are prohibited.

“Kind of a thing where you can’t just go into Glacier Bay and do as you please,” says Raino Hill, president of the Hoonah Indian Association, the community’s tribal government.

He says one of the traditions lost is gathering – and eating – sea gull eggs from nests in the bay.

“Through time, it’s died out. But there are still a few people in town who have the acquired taste for the seagull eggs,” he says.

Legislation proposed by Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski would allow Hoonah Tlingits limited access to the seabirds. (Read the bill.)

Spokesman Robert Dillon says it would permit harvests at five nesting areas two days a year.

“They expect that at a maximum it might be 440 eggs that are harvested. But in exchange for that it would allow a large group of the tribe, elders and young people, to practice a traditional cultural activity and really reconnect with their Glacier Bay home,” Dillon says. (Read about Tlingit history in Glacier Bay.)

The national park has given its consent.

Cultural Anthropologist Mary Beth Moss says the harvest should, at most, reduce gull hatchling numbers by 6 percent. She says research also determined egg-gathering would not significantly damage other wildlife.

“We also looked, of course, at potential impacts on the sea lions that use some of the same areas where gulls are nesting. And we looked at potential impacts to other birds nesting in that area and determined that our management plan would preclude any impacts to those species,” Moss says.

The bill would only allow harvests of glaucous-winged gull eggs. Other gulls also live in the park.

Sierra Club Alaska Chapter Executive Committee member Jack Hession says the damage could be greater. He says the bill could set a precedent that could affect Katmai, Denali and Kenai Fjords national parks.

“There is a risk that if Glacier Bay is opened Alaska Native people living around these other parks might seek the same privilege. And who knows how far this could go,” Hession says.

He says the bill is not needed because Hoonah Tlingits can – and do – gather gull eggs outside the park.

“The Sierra Club totally supports Alaska Native subsistence. But in this case, not in a national park that’s been long closed to subsistence. Particularly when the folks have alternatives, and some of these sites, traditional sites, are closer to Hoonah than the ones they want to visit in Glacier Bay,” Hession says. (Read more about the group’s opposition in its newsletter. Go to Page 4.)

The legislation was introduced in May. It was heard July 28th by the National Parks Subcommittee of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. It’s cosponsored by Alaska Senator Mark Begich.

Murkowski spokesman Robert Dillon is optimistic about its chances.

“It was able to get through the committee pretty quickly and we believe we can probably attach it to something and get it passed pretty quickly. And that’s because it doesn’t cost anything,” Dillon says.

The Hoonah Indian Association would like to see the matter resolved soon. President Raino Hill says some members are anxious to return to the bay to gather the traditional food.

“This legislation will make it easier. And if it does come about I may take the trip up there and help gather for some of the elders, just to have done it once,” Hill says. (Read more about egg harvesting in the bay.)

Much of the interest is in nests on Marble Island, a traditional gathering spot in the lower area of the bay. Hill says his members will follow traditional rules, which prescribe how many eggs can be in a nest targeted for harvest.

Alaska’s marine highway plans some schedule changes next summer. The fast ferry will begin port calls in Angoon but have fewer stops in Petersburg. The main Lynn Canal ship will reverse its route, and Gustavus will double its sailings to and from Juneau.

But most other routes will remain the same. That includes the new Bellingham-to-Whitter express, which has proved to be popular.

The draft schedule for summer of 2012 will take the fast ferry Fairweather to Angoon, a village about half way between Juneau and Sitka. Ferry Chief Mike Neussl says a rebuilt dock will reinstate a connection lost when the slower ship LeConte switched to shorter trips several years ago.

“So if folks were destined for Sitka to reach the hospital over there, they had to connect through Juneau, which was somewhat inconvenient. So we hope that will meet the needs of the community better. … We’re going to see how that works by running that service twice a week,” he says.

(Link to proposed changes for the 2012 summer schedule.)

It won’t be same-day service, as is now the case with the LeConte. The Fairweather will stop in Angoon on its way to Sitka on Thursdays, then make a port call on its way to Juneau on Saturdays.

The proposed change will free up the LeConte. Neussl says the small ferry will continue serving other small northern Southeast communities.

“It will be working the Gustavus-Tenakee-Hoonah route and one night of the week it will overnight in Hoonah,” he says.

Next summer’s schedule will double stops in Gustavus, the marine highway’s newest destination. Service began last fall and increased this summer.

“That has been a pretty popular destination. And with the LeConte having not to go to Angoon it has a little more time available. And I think we can accommodate more frequent service into Gustavus,” he says.

The city near the mouth of Glacier Bay will see four weekly stops next summer.

The Malaspina, which sails a Skagway-Haines-Juneau route, will also change its schedule. It will overnight and start the day in the capital city, instead of its current home port of Skagway.

“It’s not running empty but it’s not spectacular. And the thought is that by reversing that route it will be more appealing to folks heading up to Haines and Skagway for day trips and to connect to the road system. And the timing will be more convenient to get there at a reasonable hour to make border crossings,” he says.

The fast ferry will see changes beyond the Angoon stop. Neussl says it’s scheduled to drop one of its two weekly Juneau-to-Petersburg sailings.

“The ridership on the Fairweather coming out of Petersburg has not been that high so we’re going to throttle that back to one time per week,” he says.

Instead, the fast ferry will sail six days a week to Sitka, one more day than this summer.

Most of the rest of the schedule remains unchanged.

That includes a long-distance sailing that began this summer. That’s a twice-monthly Kennicott roundtrip from Bellingham, Washington, to Whitter, the nearest ferry port to Anchorage, and on to Kodiak and Homer. It also stops in Ketchikan, Juneau and Yakutat.

“The Bellingham-to-Whitter portion of that run is consistently running pretty full. Not passenger full, because we hardly ever fill our vessels with walk-on passengers. But vehicle deck space is pretty well sold out on that run, both northbound and southbound,” he says.

That route allows the ferry Tustumena to make two monthly sailings to the system’s furthest west ports.

The marine highway system will hold a meeting on the proposed schedule Monday, August 22nd, in Ketchikan. It will be teleconferenced statewide, with comments on the Southeast schedule starting at 10 a.m. and Southcentral and Southwest starting at 1:30 p.m.

The teleconference number is 1-800-315-6338. The conference code is 3902#.